


Broken Promise

by BrightestFirefly



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Angst, Blood and Violence, Character Death, Cold Weather, Death, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, I swear, I'm Sorry, M/M, Married Couple, Parenthood, Snow, Suicidal Thoughts, Winter, it's not as bad as it sounds, no beta we die like Glenn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-30
Updated: 2020-09-30
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:54:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26737708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BrightestFirefly/pseuds/BrightestFirefly
Summary: Many years after the Great War Felix and Sylvain are on their way to Fhirdiad with their two children Emma and Hendrix to join the annual festivities there.But even though the continent is at peace, some people still hold on to the past and can't seem to let go without breaking something first.
Relationships: Felix Hugo Fraldarius/Sylvain Jose Gautier
Kudos: 10





	Broken Promise

**Author's Note:**

> After I've published "At Peace", someone in the comments asked a question that has inspired me to write this.  
> I hope you'll enjoy enjoy it :)  
> In case you haven't read "At Peace" yet, I'd be grateful if you checked it out as kind of a sequel to this work c:
> 
> (sorry in advance for grammar and spelling mistakes, not beta read)

Imperial Year 1211.  
It’s been 25 years since the end of the great destructive war between the Adrestian Empire, the Leicester Alliance and the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus.  
Peace has returned to Fódlan over the years and most people felt better than ever.  
Even in the hard winters, like the one right now, everyone still has enough to eat and wear to survive the harsh cold.  
Dimitri is a good king that cares deeply for his people and their wellbeing.  
All his former classmates had survived the war, so he has many trusted people to support and encourage him whenever he feels insecure and indecisive about his decisions and actions.  
Some of them even ended up together.

Like Felix and Sylvain.  
They had married 2 years after the war was over.  
It was a huge event. Even though it wasn’t really surprising that the two men would want to spend the rest of their lives together, many were shocked by the fact that they weren’t keen on inheriting their crests to children.  
Instead they had adopted two kids from an orphanage.  
A boy and a girl. Hendrix and Emma. Inseparable twins. Sometimes a bit wild but very lovable and sweet overall. And already 12 years old.  
Felix and Sylvain are both very grateful to be blessed with such wonderful lives.  
After everything that they’ve been through, they never take a day for granted and enjoy them to the fullest.

Right now the snow on the fields is glittering beneath the bright morning sun.  
Most animals are currently winter resting, only a few birds can be seen which loud and happy chirping mixes with the sound of the light wind breeze.  
The air is freezing, and the winter is the hardest in many years, and yet the people of Faerghus are in a terribly good mood.  
Christmas is about to start and therefore also the spectacular festival in Fhirdiad.  
The huge Christmas party in the capital is the biggest annual event in Faerghus, so people from all over the Kingdom (and even the Empire and the Alliance) travel to the city to join the festivities.

Both Felix and Sylvain are excited to finally see some of their old friends again. It’s been months since they’ve last seen most of them. Everyone just seems to be too busy with politics and family to meet up.  
They don’t understand how all of their parents regularly made time for visits when they were younger.

So currently they’re on their way to Fhirdiad, of course together with Emma and Hendrix.  
It takes some time for them to travel to the capital, it’s a pretty long way and the extreme weather is making it even more exhausting for everyone.  
The family is already late on time, which is why they’ve left their guards behind. They still had to load the carriages with their personal belongings and the presents for their friends.  
But they couldn’t be too far behind though.

Felix, Sylvain, Hendrix and Emma are sitting in the main carriage, snuggly wrapped into thick blankets. Right now they find themselves heading south on a rather small road.  
Sounds of the horses hooves on the ground and the turning of the wheels cannot be overheard and the body part of the carriage is slightly jerking from side to side, caused by the uneven structure of the underground.  
Emma is leaning on Sylvain’s shoulder, while Hendrix stares out of the window, hoping that he would spot anything interesting at some point.  
“I’m so excited to see all the lights again. I just can’t wait!”, Emma says, her enthusiasm  
overshadowed by her tiredness.  
The Gautier-Fraldarius daughter has the habit of staying up way too late to read all kinds of books.  
She doesn’t just love to read fictional stories, but also learning about ancient history.  
Felix and Sylvain are proud to have such a smart daughter.  
But it’s not just her smartness, she is also an excellent fighter. Unlike her parents, Emma had never really fancied swords or lances, she showed more interest in fighting with gauntlets, using her very own hands. Truly a tough one.

“I know, I love them too! They always shine so beautifully”, Sylvain responds, looking down to his sleepy daughter with a wide smile, while booping her nose; she can barely even keep her eyes open.  
“Maybe you should go to bed earlier, Sweetie”, Felix chuckles, also looking directly at his daughter.  
“I am. Must be the cold”, Emma mumbles a terribly bad lie and presses her body closer to her dad, as if he was an oven.

“You know what I’m looking forward to?”, Hendrix joins the conversation, turning towards the rest of his family.  
“The unbelievable amount of presents you’ll receive?”, Sylvain jokes, raising one of his eyebrows.  
The boy just rolls his eyes: “No. I mean the sparring matches with the others of course!”  
Hendrix, other than his sister, loves sword fighting. Every time they visit another family, the boy wants to have at least one sparring match with the other kids, just like his parents used to. And he’s fantastic with the sword, he’s learning it from his dads after all. But lately it seems like he’s also drawn to using magic. The boy’s fast improvements in casting spells shows a definite talent for the magical.  
One of his hobbies is riding, Hendrix just loves the view when he sits on top of his trusted horse.  
He’s also loving animals in general. His family often sees him feeding and petting all kinds of animals: cats, dogs, pigs, sheep, goats, ducks and even birds aren’t afraid of him.

Felix and Sylvain couldn’t wish for more wonderful kids.

“Of course you are! When it comes training, you’re just like us, son”, Felix smiles, patting his son on the shoulder.  
“I like to think back to the times when we were obsessed with fighting one another and training so hard to be better than anyone else”, Sylvain throws in, staring into the air, the nostalgia visible in his eyes.  
“Don’t you think we still are? We just don’t have so much time for it anymore”, Felix says, looking back and forth at his two children.  
“Hey! Don’t tell me that we are that much trouble. I’d say that we are easy to handle, right Emma?”, Hendrix argues, turning toward his sister, but her answer consists of nothing but a small “Mh-Mh”.  
“It could be worse, I guess. But your father is right, we really do have less time for training. But we can’t let these old bones rust either. Maybe it’s time to do a little more training again.  
Even though I gotta say, your father still looks as good as 20 years ago”, Sylvain responds, winking to his husband after finishing his last sentence.  
Felix blushes a bit while smiling lightly.  
“Father! Could you just not…!”, Hendrix cringes at the words of his father.  
“Could I just not what?”, the red-haired man asks his son with a little laugh.  
“Not… Be like that!”, their son says, and his two dads start laughing.  
“Don’t worry son, someday you’ll understand”, Felix tries to calm their boy with a slight grin.  
Hendrix just raises his eyebrows and turns his head to the right again, to continue his search for something interesting on the outside.

Minutes pass without anyone talking.  
Emma actually fell asleep and even is lightly snoring.  
Sylvain also has his eyes closed; just like his daughter, he probably stayed up a bit too long last night too, but in his case some necessary paperwork was to blame. Felix had to get out of bed again to tell his husband that him finally going to sleep was long overdue.  
And surprisingly Sylvain even listened to Felix, usually it takes a bit more to convince the red-haired man to leave his working desk and go to bed.

While his daughter and husband are resting and his son is in deep thought, Felix gets out a book.  
He used to be not that fond of reading, but after growing older he had actually learned to enjoy it.  
He had started asking Ingrid and Ashe for good books, since they’ve always been interested in the literature world, and he still does today. Their tips just never let him down.  
The story he brought onto the journey with him is about a young boy from a poor village with the dream to become a knight, but because everyone tells him he could never make it, he’s travelling the world with a tiger to get stronger and become a true hero.  
It kind of remembers Felix of the time when he was convinced that Ingrid had no chances of becoming a true knight because she is a girl and that she should go and find a man instead of chasing unrealistic dreams of hers. Nowadays he feels terrible about that.  
He admires her persistence and strong-willed mind. She never let go of her dream and now she is the most beloved and prestigious knight of the Kingdom. Felix couldn’t be prouder of her.

Another few hours pass by and Felix is so deep into his book that he doesn’t notice Emma waking up and staring at him.  
“Will we arrive soon, father? How long does it still take?”, the girl asks, causing Felix to flinch at the sudden sound of her voice.  
He looks up from his book and straight into his daughter's face, which is decorated with many freckles, her bright blue eyes still small from the nap.  
He smiles and takes a short glance out of the window to get a feeling of where they might be at right now. It looks like a forest kind of area, which Faerghus doesn’t have a lot of.

Felix turns back to Emma and tells her “I’m not sure, Sweetie. Maybe 9 hours or so?”.  
“What? That long? I don’t wanna wait anymore!”, Emma groans and pouts.  
“I think you could use a little more patience, little Miss!”, Sylvain has also opened his eyes again, his voice a bit raspy.  
“It’s true. You’re always like this”, even Hendrix is taking part in the conversation again, after hours of saying nothing.  
“That’s just so mean!”, Emma pouts, looking down at the floor.  
“Sweetie, you know that you shouldn’t take that seriously. We’re only joking”, Sylvain tries to comfort his daughter, patting her on the head.  
“Your father is right, Emma. We all love you a lot!”, Felix tells his daughter, while everyone else hums in agreement.  
“I love you too. I’m sorry, but I’m just so excited for the festival”, Emma says, her pout turning into a little smile.  
“It’s all okay, Emma! Nothing to be sorry about!”, the red-haired man bows a bit down to press a light kiss onto the girls forehead.  
“I think all of us are looking forward to the events of the next few days, it’s so very-“, Felix also starts to try and also lighten Emma’s mood, until the carriage suddenly stops.

Without any warning the horses start neighing loudly, just a second before a blood curdling scream is heard which only possible origin is the coachman. The carriage is rocking heavily.  
Felix and Sylvain immediately draw their swords.  
“Stay here!”, Felix sternly tells his kids.  
Emma and Hendrix both have horrified expressions on their faces, both trembling.  
The two men step out of the carriage, just to see the beheaded coachman lying on the ground and a dozen barbarians surrounding their vehicle.  
That was nothing but bad luck.  
Felix and Sylvain look around, scanning the attackers, already thinking of strategies.  
The one barbarian that looks like he could be the leader of the group starts talking: “How interesting. What a special catch this is. Must be our lucky day.”  
His voice is deep and gruff.  
Fitting to his outer appearance: He’s tall, has broad shoulders, is packed with muscles and his face is filled with ugly scars. In his hand he holds a great axe that is already dripping with blood. Must be the coachman’s.  
“What do you want?”, Felix askes, his voice steady and devoid of any emotion, just like when he was younger. He stares right into the leader’s small eyes.  
“Usually, we would ask for gold. But you know what? I think your heads are worth much more on the black market. There are a lot of people who wouldn’t mind seeing you dead, in case you didn't know”, the boss takes a few steps towards the men.  
“There’s nothing we have done. Just take our gold and go!”, Sylvain growls.  
“May I remind you, that both of your paths are filled with blood? You’ve killed a lot of people. They had family too”, this about nothing but revenge. The only way to come out of this situation alive is to hold the hoard off, until their guards catch up to them.  
“Speaking of family”, the barbarian points with his axe to the carriage, “we know that there are more in there. Why don’t you introduce them to us? It’s kind of rude not to, isn’t it?”  
“Hurt them and all of you are dead! They have nothing to do with anything”, Felix warns their attackers.  
“No, no, no! We wouldn’t just kill some kids. They’re worth a lot on the slave market anyways. It would be a waste to chop their heads off”, the man says those words, as if it was the most humane thing in the world.  
And that was too much for Sylvain. Before Felix can stop him, his husband runs towards the leader, ready to attack and kill.  
Felix can’t hesitate either, now that Sylvain has started the fight.  
Usually his husband was smart enough to know that their chances to win this fight are small, but his sleep-deprived brain and the provocation probably took over him.  
So Felix starts running to.  
He tries to keep Sylvain’s back free by fighting some of the weaker group members.  
It’s been a while since they’ve last had a real fight, must have been years.  
It hasn’t been really necessary after the war.  
Maybe it was a bit naïve of them to think that they would never be involved in a “to-the-death” fight again.  
But it’s happening right now. And losing is no option.  
This is not just about themselves, but also their beloved kids.

Felix is having a hard time fighting off all the men.  
It’s not just the fact that he hasn’t fought for such a long time, but also the merciless cold that, even though it’s typical for Faerghus, is straining the blue-haired man.  
Without his years-long training at the Officers Academy and the time before and after that he wouldn’t stand a chance.

Sylvain also might have underestimated his opponent.  
Or overestimated himself.  
The lack of sleep last night puts him in a pretty bad state of mind. Sylvain is barely able to dodge the heavy axe swings of his massive opponent, while all his blows are easily blocked. The tall barbarian looks at Sylvain with an arrogant smile on his face, which pisses the Gautier heir off even more. But there's just no opening, no chance for a critical hit. His own defeat seems inevitable.  
Sylvains fatigue is now heavily kicking in, which results in him tripping and falling onto his back, right into the freezing snow. His sword falling out of his hand.  
"Seems like your time is over now. Not as much of a challenge as I had hoped it would be, but as long as you're dead, I'm fine with that", Sylvain hears the tall man say, right before his axe came falling down on him.  
This he red haired male had nowhere to flee to, nothing he could do, except for accepting his fate.  
But a second before the axe hits him, a flash of purple light is suddenly filling the area and the time seems to stand still for a few seconds. 

Sylvain closes his eyes, the light being too bright to look at. He asks himself, whether this was his death already. Why isn't he feeling any pain? He slowly opens his eyes again to check, if it was heaven he is at.

All he sees is the forest though, the exact same forest from a few seconds ago. He turns his head to the side, just to see the massive barbarian leader laying on the ground a few feet away from him. Sylvain can't explain what exactly happened right now.  
The last time he had experienced something similar was during the Great War. Someone must have fired incredibly strong magic. 

"Sylvain!", the redhead hears his husband shouting out his name. He slowly raises his upper body, to see Felix running towards him. A mix of exhaustion, fear and relief on his face. Behind him Hendrix and Emma. "Father!", Emma screams, tears visible in her eyes. The three of them help up their husband and father. "Father, are you hurt?", Hendrix asks, hugging his dad, shaking slightly.  
"I'm okay, don't worry", Sylvain says, his veins still pumping with adrenaline. "Say, it wasn't you who just saved me, was it, Hendrix?", he had to ask, since he is the only one around who knows to actually cast magic. "It was, father. I know you've told us to stay inside, but we just couldn't let you fight alone…", the boy says, trying to apologise to his dad. "Don't worry about it.", Sylvain tries to smile at least a little.  
Now also Emma hugs her father, holding onto him very tight.  
"I thought I'd lose you", Felix then says, gently cupping his husband's cheeks, caressing them with his thumbs, before pressing a little kiss on his lips.  
Emma and Hendrix are letting go of their father again, smiling at him, even though there are still a few tears in their eyes. 

"So what are we gonna do now?", Felix asks the rest of his little family. "I think we just have to wait until the guards catch up to us. They shouldn't be too far be---", Sylvain starts talking, but then WOOSH.  
An arrow is fired from somewhere in the bushes. Then another one. And a third one. All three piercing straight into Sylvain's back and neck. He falls forward, crashing onto the icy and cold ground. Blood streams out of his back, down his sides, painting the snow underneath him red. 

Emma screams and Hendrix fires another shot of magic into the direction where we the arrows came from. A loud groan is the only answer he gets, telling him that he did not miss. 

Felix immediately falls on his knees, so do the kids. He can't even scream, it's like his throat is closed. Tears blurry his sight, trembling hands lightly and carefully shaking Sylvain's hurt and weak body.  
But it's no use, the shots of the hidden sniper were so accurate that there are no chances for him to be saved. He's too far gone already. Nearly silent, but pained whimpers are the only thing that comes out of Sylvain's mouth, before the life leaves his body for good. 

Emma and Hendrix stare at their dad's dead body in a disturbed manner, not being able to say anything.  
Felix finally finds his voice again and he starts screaming. Louder than he has ever screamed before. His fists clenched, hammering onto the hard ground beneath him. 

But suddenly he stops; a moment of silence.  
And then Felix remembers; remembers that one night. The night when they had made their promise. The promise to stay together forever. To die together, because their lives wouldn't be worth living without the other one walking by their side. 

He then grabs his sword, holding the tip to his chest, ready to push it in. Ready to go and stop the pain.  
"Father?", a broken voice speaks. "What are you doing?", another voice asks, full of fear and sadness. "FATHER!?", the same voice now screams at him, waking Felix from his trance. Emma. It was Emma. 

He slowly lowers his sword to the ground, turning around to his kids, gulping heavily. Felix eyes are wide open, mouth slightly opened. The cold air and his shaky breath forming small clouds in front of his face.  
"Sorry", is all Felix can say. His kids look at him with a horrified look on his face. They couldn't bear to also lose their other dad. 

They lean forward to hug him, hot tears burning on their cold skin. Both Emma's and Hedrix' crying is getting very audible now. Their sobbing is getting louder and louder. Felix closes his arms around his two kids, pulling them closer to him. Seeking comfort from their presence and warmth. 

So they remain there, crying and screaming over the tragic loss of a loved one. 

And when the guards arrive some time later they find blood painted ground, body's of unknown people and a once happy family that won't ever be able to see the Christmas lights the way they've done before. 

But there's something else, something that can't be seen with the eye: In the middle of the chaos lies a broken promise, waiting to be forgotten.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Hopefully you have enjoyed reading this little story! :) <3  
> Feedback in the comments is very much appreciated :D


End file.
